The invention relates in general to apparatus for coating segments of cylindrical substrates and in particular to apparatus for coating segments of cylindrical substrates, such as artillery cannon, using deposition processes that require vacuum.
Large caliber artillery cannon life can be extended by coating the interior of the cannon. Various types of coating methods and materials are used to coat the interior of a cannon. After a cannon interior is coated, the coating method and material is evaluated. Research into the best coating methods and materials is an ongoing effort. In the past, a short piece of gun tube, for example, about a foot long, was coated and then tested. The time required between depositions was about four days. Because the short piece of gun tube (substrate) was part of the vacuum system, the vacuum system had to be disassembled every time a new substrate (gun tube) was coated. The present invention reduces the time between depositions from about four days to about four hours.